The present embodiments relate to a device for motorized support of a patient positioning facility.
Patient positioning facilities are used in conjunction with medical diagnosis or therapy devices, for example, computer tomography devices, magnetic resonance devices, x-ray devices, x-ray therapy devices or ultrasound devices. Patient positioning facilities are used to position a patient or other object in the effective range of the medical device. The effective range of imaging diagnostic devices is the scanning range. To generate a diagnostic image the patient must be positioned in the scanning range. With therapy devices, the effective range can be a range within a radiation bundle for instance. A therapeutic radiation, for example, with x-rays or electron beams, can be undertaken in the effective range.
Positioning facilities generally include a table top, upon which the patient can lie or if necessary sit, in order to be positioned in the effective range of the medical device. The ‘effective range’ is a patient or body, of which a CT recording is to be generated, that is located in the effective range. The table top can be mounted to be height-adjustable, rotatable and tiltable. The table top may be moved in the longitudinal (transverse) direction. Table tops may be improved in the transverse direction.
Motor drives are usually used to change the position of the table top. The motor drives spare an operator from expending effort on a manual positioning, particularly with patients lying thereupon. The motor drives adjust the position. The motor drives are controlled by a control facility. The control facility can be operated by a wide variety of input devices, for example, joystick, mouse, keyboard, or touch screen. The controllers do not provide direct patient contact during control. A manual displacement and a motorized displacement of the table top have been used to provide direct patient contact. Due to the coupled motor drive, an operator must overcome the sluggishness of the motor drive, for example, motor or transmission.
DE 199 29 654 discloses coupling the motor drive to the table top by electromagnetic or mechanical clutches. If the table is to be moved manually, it is decoupled from the drive by a clutch. Only the frictional forces of the table mount, for example, rollers, linear guides or ball-bearings and of the drive train, for example, toothed belts or toothed racks, must be overcome. The clutch must first be released by manual activation or effort. The clutch involves more constructional outlay.